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Three Wise Women

 
Paul T. Davies Review by Paul T. Davies 4 Published: 27 Jul 2026 The Minories Garden Cafe Show Dates: 23 Jul 2026-26 Jul 2026

One of the many blights on Essex history is the appalling murders of women accused of being “witches” in the 16th century. Staged as part of the Colchester Fringe Weekender, Three Wise Women brings to life three of the victims in a movement- and text-based piece performed close to Colchester Castle, where “witches” were imprisoned, tried and executed.

The piece raises the voices of the forgotten women staged just yards from where they were imprisoned

Staged outdoors in the beautiful Minories Garden, our feet rest on the ground these women would have walked upon, and the acoustics of the venue are extraordinary. Based on meticulous research, the piece commemorates Agnes Waterhouse, a healer, Ursula Kemp, a midwife, and Elsa, a barmaid.

Ritual is at the heart of the piece, supported by music from Sisters of the Drum (Keziah Osbourne, Phillipa Taylor, Beverley Weemes and Melanie Wright), who are extraordinary as they drum, chant and reclaim the space. The movement is powerful and strong. The performers, Elizabeth Cleone Hopland (Agnes, also writer), Sharmila Peake (Ursula) and Hayley Russell (Elsa, director and choreographer), move as one, gathering and building to one voice. That the voices are strong and clear against the noise of a city on a Saturday night is testament to their skill and power. It’s a truly collaborative piece, each participant handling the material with respect and authority.

The central core of the work, when the women speak to us, together with the movement and location, are the strongest elements of the piece. But it feels very much like a work in development. The edges feel blurry, but more work could bring them into sharp focus. Perhaps more context of the period and attitudes towards women could also be explored, but the show fully succeeds in its aim of reclaiming these women. We all know the name of Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins. We don’t know the names of his victims.

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The Blurb:

In 16th century Essex, hundreds of women were accused, condemned and executed for witchcraft. Three Wise Women resurrects the true stories of three of them: Agnes Waterhouse, Ursula Kemp and Elsa.Through ritual, movement and spoken word, these women rise from history’s gallows to reclaim their names, their stories and their power. Their lives intertwine through evocative physical theatre and embodied storytelling, revealing three ordinary women shaped by extraordinary circumstances: a healer, a midwife, a barmaid. Women whose knowledge of the land, of birth, of illness and of survival was once essential to their communities, before it became feared. Not condemned for evil, but for existing beyond control.

At its heart, Three Wise Women is a fierce feminist act of remembrance. Exploring sisterhood as resistance, community as protection and wisdom as inheritance, the work confronts the systems that criminalised female autonomy and silenced generations of women.

This is a story of persecution, survival and reclamation. Of women scapegoated in times of fear and social unrest. Of voices that refuse to be buried and legacies that refuse to burn.In honouring Agnes, Ursula and Elsa, we honour the countless unnamed women whose wisdom was branded as witchcraft.

Three women. Three stories. One unbreakable voice.